London pre-open: Positive start expected after record close on Wall Street

UK stocks are expected to open with modest gains on Tuesday following a decent performance on Wall Street the night before, as investors watch corporate earnings on a quiet day for economic data.City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open 10 points higher than Monday's close of 6,940.64.Both the Dow Jones and S&P 500 closed at record highs the previous session, while the Nasdaq Composite finished above 5,000 for the first time in 15 years.Following a barrage of economic indicators released on Monday, Tuesday's session is looking pretty quiet, with German retail sales and the Eurozone producer price index being the only major releases.Stocks to watchCost saving initiatives helped Barclays grow its annual pre-tax profit by 12% last year, but the bank set aside £1.25bn for provisions to cover litigation costs related to ongoing probes into misconduct and rigging foreign exchange rates.Commodities trader and mining group Glencore managed to meet City expectations with a 2% decline in operating profits in 2014 as strong earnings growth in its marketing division was outweighed by falling prices dragging on its industrial business. It also said that in response other volatile backdrop for commodities markets, the capital expenditure budget for 2015 has been cut to $6.5bn-6.8bn from previous guidance of $7.9bn.Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey has doubled its dividend payment after unveiling impressive profits growth in 2014 and enjoying better-than-expected trading in the new year. On revenue up 17% to £2.69bn, the FTSE 100 group drove a 68% increase in profit before tax and exceptional items to £450.1m and proposed a near tripling in the final dividend to 1.32p per share.AstraZeneca has completed its acquisition of the rights to Activis' branded respiritory business in the US and Canada. AstraZeneca has paid Actives $600m of initial consideration as well as an extra $100m for a number of contractual consents and approvals.